Wild Horse of Iwatodai
by steinerdavion2183
Summary: Pharos, or Death feels sad about what happened to Minato.Fate or Destiny visits him and decides to help out by turning back the clock to change things...only this time, a certain pigtailed martial artist will be present as well. Raw Chapter 3 added!
1. Departure

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ Belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media and all its affiliates. Persona and its affiliates belong to those wonderful guys at Atlus. Oh, and the opening of this prologue might resemble a fic that is already on. I give credit to that esteemed writer and I ask forgiveness for using the opening as part of my story. And I know you guys are tired of me saying this, but this is my first attempt at writing a Ranma/Persona Cross so I do apologize if I don't meet the expectations of you guys.

A/N: I have decided that Nekomata will be Ranma's Persona, a fusion of the cat spirit and his cursed form. Only his Nekomata's sexier than the normal Nekomata, and has red hair. And I intend for Ranma to have the same ability as Minato. There won't be any pairings yet for now, assuming you guys want me to continue this. And this will be an AU version of the game, with slight canon references, and I intend, hopefully for this fiction to provide a happy ending for all the characters. Oh, and Ranma will have a different way of summoning his Persona. He's going to summon them by card, just like the MC of Persona 4 did. I also would like to thank Demodragon for his part on editing this chapter, as well as becoming my official proof-reader and editor. Thanks DD!

Chapter 1: Departure

Pharos, or Death as he is better known looked on as his chosen one, Minato Arisato gave his life to stop the rogue Persona Users known as STREGA who seemed to be able to control the creatures known as Shadows in the labyrinth called Tartarus.

To tell the truth, Death was impressed by the young man's growth and his ability to grow close and inspire many people. He certainly felt that he did not choose wrongly, though he did feel a twinge of regret at the sadness that the apparent coma that the young man had suffered brought about hurt to many of the young man's comrades in an anti-Shadow organization better known as S.E.E.S or Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad.

"So… how did it go, Brother?" A soft female voice interrupted Death from his musings and slight guilt trip, and he looked to the side and smiled wistfully. The girl that approached him was in a little girl form, just as he took the form of a young boy. The girl was wearing what seemed to be a nice blue sundress and a small straw hat on her head, and her light brown hair fell to her shoulders.

Death just said. "Pretty well, I guess sister… the young man did extremely well in my opinion… though I must say that I feel somewhat awful that things had to end up like they did in the end. He deserved so much more and yet… he just lies there in that hospital bed, while his companions feel nothing but grief at his condition."

The little girl hugged him and said. "There is nothing you can do, brother… he has accepted the responsibility that is entailed by the contract… although if you wish, we can restart all over, and I intend to bring in a new player into this game. And I must say that the young man that I am interested in bringing in deserves better than what his current life."

Now Death was very interested at his sister's words. Fate or Destiny as she is called never really bothered too much about mortals but to observe them. For a mortal to invoke such a reaction from his normally aloof sister is special indeed. "Oh?" He said in a neutral tone. "I must admit sister, that this mortal must be special enough if you have taken an interest in him. Do you have his file on hand, I wonder?"

"Certainly brother… but a word of warning… the contents of his file is rather… unpleasant to say the least, so don't be surprised if you get mad. I almost blew my top at what happened to him, and my only regret is that I have to be content to watch for some time as his life plays out. Trust me brother, his life is not a bed of roses either."

Death nodded and said. "I shall keep your words in mind, sister. Could I see the file please?" He stretched out his hand and Fate gave him a plain manila folder and she said. "Mind you, that is a summarized version of his life, from his childhood to his current age."

Pharos only nodded as he opened the folder labelled 'Ranma Saotome' and began to read the contents. Halfway through the folder his body trembled with fury and his eyes hardened into cold merciless orbs. By the time he finished he gave the file back and then he said in a deadly tone. "You know, Fate… I rarely feel this way, but do you think we'll get into trouble if a certain panda cursed individual met with a lot of mishaps?"

Fate just looked at him grimly and said. "Now, now brother dear… while I might understand your logic in hurting the panda man, I think you have to get in line. There are many gods and goddesses in the multiverse that are, how should I say this, extremely pissed with what the fat fool has done to Ranma. First and foremost are Bast AND Sekhmet."

Pharos shivered at the thought of those two hell-bent on vengeance. He didn't envy Genma Saotome at all, after all… there usually won't be anything left to identify with when those two pissed goddesses are through.

In the Tendo Dojo, a certain panda cursed individual suddenly had a major sneezing fit as his danger senses went into overdrive. He didn't know what might have caused this feeling but he thought that it would be better for him NOT to find out what it was. Perhaps an extended training trip is in order. Deciding that was the most viable option, Genma began to pack his things. Maybe China was nice this time of the year.

Pharos then said. "So, what do you have in mind, sister? It seems that this young man that you have chosen to play for you is indeed interesting… perhaps a new set of game might be in order… we'll use our powers to turn back the clock to when everything started… and you can arrange for this Ranma to be moved over to Gekkoukan High where hopefully his Persona will be awakened."

Fate nodded and grinned and said. "Indeed… and I think I can manipulate his curse and the cat spirit to merge to become his Persona. This is going to be so much fun!"

"Alright then… let us begin sister… let's hope things don't turn out so bleak this time." Pharos said and his sister smiled, shaking her head.

"You know, for someone that represents the end of Life, you are such a softie, Pharos. But then again that's what I really like about you. Let us begin then…"

Both child like Elder beings stretched out their hands and chanted together, softly as first as magical leylines slowly formed on the floor into a magical circle with the symbols of the zodiac on the outer circle and the signs of the planets on the inside. Both of them focused their powers into the circle and their chanting grew louder and then they spoke out the final activation word in one unison and soon a blinding sphere of light surrounded both of them and it expanded, covering the whole earth for some time, before subsiding.

Both of them slumped slightly and then looked at each other for a moment, neither saying a word for some time.

Pharos looked at Fate for some time and then said. "It is done, then?"

Fate nodded and said. "Yes, brother it is. We are now currently a week before Minato Arisato arrives in Iwatodai, and that gives me some time to pull some strings with the Kirijo group to send a martial arts scholarship to Ranma Saotome, whom I expect will arrive with Minato."

Pharos nodded and then said. "Then let us proceed with the plan, sister… I grew fond of that boy and I wanted to give him a second chance of happiness. Hopefully with your chosen one by his side, things would be a little better this time around."

Fate just nodded and said. "Don't worry dear brother… everything is going to turn out just fine…" She winked at Pharos cheekily before fading out from view.

He looked at the spot where his sister used to be and just shook his head at her antics, and soon prepared to leave as well. There was no point in staying for the moment since the major players for the game are yet to arrive. He soon too faded from view.

Elsewhere...

"Hey, what is that you're reading?"

Mitsuru glanced up from the folder she was currently browsing as Akihiko entered the room. He tossed his gym bag to side of the doorway and made his way over to the table where she was seated.

"It's a report we just received from one of the branch offices in Tokyo. They have been investigating some ongoing abnormal activity in the Nerima Prefecture in order to determine if it is in any way linked to the Dark Hour."

"Really?" Akihiko raised an eyebrow as he reached for one of the other folders. "Any relation?"

"None," Mitsuru replied. "Though the headmaster thought it would be a good idea to review the report, regardless, in case there was something that could be useful."

"No way! Are these people for real?!"

Mitsuru looked up, startled at Akihikos sudden outburst. The folder he was currently holding was one of a number of background files of the Nerima residents that had been investigated as part of the report. Curiously, she picked up one of the remaining folders and flipped it open as Akihiko continued to read through the file of one Tatewaki Kuno. If this guy was really half as strong as this report made him out to be…

"I don't believe it," Mitsuru almost whispered.

"I know," Akihiko replied. "If this guy wasn't flagged as being delusional I'd say we should try and recruit him."

"No, I know this one," Mitsuru said. Akihiko moved to look over her shoulder and glance at the folder. "'Ten year training trip', yes, it is him! It's been six years since I last saw him."

Akihiko took a step back and looked at Mitsuru. She looked far more animated than she usually was; one might even go so far as to say excited. Quite a change from the calm and cool Honors student she usually showed the rest of the world. Shaking his head he turned his attention back to the folder in her hands.

"Ranma Saotome... Too bad his grades are so low; it looks like he's barely maintaining a passing GPA."

"Oh?" Mitsuru glanced up at the comment. "Why would his grades concern you? No, wait, I know. You'd like it if he could be transferred here so you could fight him."

"Wouldn't be much of a fight if any of this is real," Akihiko said, gesturing to the folder. "Still, my goal is to become stronger, and if this friend of yours is as good as it seems then I could definitely learn something from him. Still, I doubt they would even consider him for one of the sports scholarships with grades like that."

"Maybe," Mitsuru muttered as she looked through the pages, her eyes coming to rest on one in particular. "Then again, maybe not. It seems his school records show a lot of missed classes over the past ten years, some even spanning months."

"And he still managed to advance in spite of that?" Akihiko asked. Mitsuru didn't answer, instead taking out her cell phone with a small smile on her face. Akihiko soon found himself grinning as well. 'Oh, hell yeah, this is going to be good.'

A few days later, in the Tendo Dojo, Kasumi was just checking her family's mail when she stumbled upon something unusual. Mind you, that with the weirdness of Nerima, nothing should be able to faze the normally unflappable eldest Tendo sister, but this one did.

She quickly took the object in question and called out. "Ranma, you have a letter addressed to you!"

Ranma felt curious at this news, as he didn't remember having any friends that would know of his location. He quickly came out and said. "A letter for me, Kasumi? Who is it from?"

As usual, when it concerns Ranma, the Tendo gang quickly came out and crowded around, wanting to know about the letter as well.

"Well, it says here that it is from one Mitsuru Kirijo from the Kirijo Zaibatsu in Iwatodai," Kasumi said, eyes widening slightly as she read the name. Truth to be told, after the failed wedding incident, both Kasumi and to a certain extent Nabiki began to regard Ranma as a younger brother that they never had. And the talk around the marketplace did a great deal to keep her informed of the events in the world, since she seldom had time to sit and watch the news. For such a large organization to take an interest in Ranma...

Nabiki looked at Ranma and the letter with some interest. After all, the Kirijo Zaibatsu is a pretty well known and wealthy conglomerate in the town of Iwatodai. How such a strong financial group, and more importantly, the heir of the Kirijo group would know of Ranma is a mystery.

The most logical explanation was that the baka panda that called himself her father's old training buddy had somehow engaged Ranma again to some girl's family, probably for something as simple as money or food. It wasn't that strange since the fat panda had done the same with many girls before. Ukyo Kuonji and Kaori Daikoku were two such examples, though the Daikokus withdrew their claim.

Not to mention the other 'suitors' that the fat panda has engaged crawling out of the woodwork, it's been something of a common occurrence. What was most surprising was how Ranma reacted. Instead of yelling at his father, the cursed martial artist frowned in thought. "Mitsuru… Mitsuru… ahh," Ranma suddenly slammed his fist into his palm. "It's from Mitsu-chan. I wonder how she is able to find me after all this time."

As predicted, the madness that surrounds Nerima's resident Wild Horse erupted into being once more, and the trigger was the statement that he just uttered.

"My son is so manly!" That was the seppuku contract, manliness obsessed, katana wielding woman.

"HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON MY BABY!!!?" There goes the Demon Head of the Tendo Waterworks.

"Boy! How dare you cheat on your fiancée like that! OH, how am I cursed with such a dishonourable son?" That was the hypocritical panda cursed lard bag.

Strange enough, Akane who was usually mallet happy when these things are concerned, did not react at first. She noticed the way that Ranma mentioned the other girl's name and she couldn't help but wonder who she was. It was as if her fiancé was remembering something that was nice from the past.

But before she could ask, Nabiki cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. "Well, Ranma, aren't you going to read it? I personally am interested in finding out how you know this Mitsuru. After all, it's not everyday that the heir of one of richest conglomerates from the town of Iwatodai sends you a letter."

Soun turned and glared at Genma. "Saotome….. Is this one of your schemes again!?" The faint traces of the Demon Head forming, while Nodoka fingered the bundle in her hand, adding. "Yes, husband… I expect a satisfactory explanation for this."

Genma shook his head and said rather fearfully. "Now… now, old friend, No-chan… I swear to you that I do not know anything about this. Ask the boy! He should know better than me!"

All eyes then were fixed on Ranma expectantly, who scratched his head nervously for a moment before sighing. "Yeah, it's true. Let's go sit down in the living room and I'll tell all of you."

Once they were all seated, Ranma began. "I met Mitsu-chan during the ten year training trip. Back then I was around ten, a few months after that failed Neko-ken training…" He paused for a moment to glare daggers at his idiotic father, before continuing. "We wandered across this town, and we stayed for a while. Pops, as usual went sake hunting, leaving me on my own. That was when I met Mitsuru who was around three or four years older than me in the park, where I was practicing my katas. To cut the long story short, we became friends after that, though we kinda lost contact after that."

"So Ranma… this Mitsuru person is not another fiancée, is she?" Akane asked the question that everyone in the room wanted to know.

Ranma just shook his head and said. "Nope, she's not, 'Kane, unless Pops did some arranging while I wasn't looking…. You could say that she's a special childhood friend, rather than a fiancée… after all, if I remember correctly, she lost her mother at that age too, I think."

All the Tendo sisters nodded, and even Soun couldn't say anything bad about the Kirijo girl, seeing that they too had lost a mother and a beloved wife as well. Nabiki then said. "So, Saotome… what does the letter say anyway? And why did she send one to you right now?"

Ranma just shrugged and said. "I don't know, 'Biki…. May as well find out."

He slowly opened the envelope and then took out the letter, which also included a brochure and a map of some sort, and a train ticket to Iwatodai station. "Well here goes."

_Dear Ranma,_

_How are you? It's me, Mitsuru. It's been a while since we last seen each other, so I do not know if you still remember me. You practically disappeared six years ago, and it took me a while to find you. Needless to say, I was surprised when I came across your name recently in one of the reports that came to us by from one of our branch offices. It seems the chaos that surrounds your life is still going strong… anyway; I won't go into the details about your life, since I think you can tell me more later. _

_The reason I am contacting you is that I think you need some change in environment. My family has a little pull within the Ministry of Education, so I was able to find about your grades. Obviously, the chaos in Furinkan and Nerima in general is one of the reasons why your grades are low, since you don't have time and space to study. Therefore I have managed to get you an opening in our second year high school on a sports scholarship. I hope to see you there soon._

_Your friend,_

_Mitsuru Kirijo_

_P.S. I'm looking forward to seeing if you really have become the best martial artist in the world._

A silence fell across the room for a moment, and Nabiki broke it by saying. "Well…. That was unexpected. Who knew our resident jock had friends in such high places. I must admit, Ranma, I am rather jealous that you just got handed a scholarship to one of the top ranking schools in the nation."

"Oh my… how nice of your friend to do this for you Ranma..." Kasumi remarked, feeling happy for her unofficial little brother, and even Akane smiled softly. She knew that she liked Ranma a lot, though if she was to be honest to herself, she and Ranma had too many differences, and what they did have in common more often than not had her competing for recognition against his greater experience. The most that she could be is his best friend. Anything else and she would inevitably find herself fighting to get out of his shadow. That didn't mean that she wouldn't still mallet him for putting his foot in his mouth.

Ranma fell silent for a moment, and then slipped the letter; brochure and ticket back into the envelope before getting up and walked towards his room, and sat down to think. He did not know why this happened now, but he considered it a blessing and thanked any god that had allowed this to happen.

After the failed wedding fiasco, things went quiet for a moment, though he really felt angry at Ukyou, and the Amazons, not to mention the rest of the Nerima loonies for wrecking the wedding. He also felt angry at Nabiki for a while, though she apologized to him later. He couldn't and didn't blame her, since the beginning when she started taking photos of his female form. He knew of it of course, though he let it be, since he felt he needed to contribute some way and not freeload off the Tendos like his lazy father.

But then, everything returned normal, with an extra helping of chaos on the side, with the fiancées getting more and more aggressive by the day, and the rivals popping out of the woodwork. He got malleted and launched to the air due to Air Akane sometimes, because of Akane's frustration and him catching her at a bad time due to his 'foot-in-mouth' syndrome, though it was better now, due to Kasumi and Nabiki teaching him how to speak properly.

He started to pack, though his mind was on other things. On one hand, it would be good to go to Iwatodai and in a sense, have a new start on his life without the hassles and the insanity that surrounds him in Nerima. But on the other hand, he might miss the fiancées and rivals. As much as he disliked their bugging and attacking him, the members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, including his loony mother and his lazy father are all he had. It took some time for him to decide, before he made up his mind on what he wanted to do.

When he went down, and Genma saw him, the portly bald man growled. "Now where do you think you are going, boy!?"

Ranma snorted. "Where else, Pops? I'm going over to Iwatodai to take up on that scholarship and finish my high school."

"Foolish boy! There is no need to go there! What does school has to do with martial arts anyway? You have managed so far without it haven't you?" Genma retorted.

"Ahem… if I may beg to differ." Nabiki coughed, catching their attention. "Education is very important, Uncle Genma…" She then tapped her head. "It is because of this, I managed to manage this household and keep it afloat, despite you and in a certain extent, Ranma freeloading off at our house." She then sent a glare towards her father. "Don't start that crap about they are guests again, Daddy. You don't know how much these two drained the family finances, not to mention the repair bills when Ranma's rivals and suitors decide to 'drop in' on us."

Soun started to cry again, and Nabiki palmed her face at the embarrassment of her family, before saying. "All I am trying to say is that, with enough education, not only is Ranma is able to get a college degree, which improves his standing in the community, it would help raise the family prestige. This is the modern times, uncle Genma… while it might be alright for you to get by during your time; it isn't enough to get by in these modern times. Think of it, would you want a country bumpkin, and someone that is uneducated to run the Dojo." The fact that having Ranma close to the heir of the Kirijo Conglomerate might eventually become a window of opportunity for Nabiki herself went unsaid, but then Nabiki was an undisputed master of finding opportunities in the chaos that was her home. "Auntie Nodoka, I think you might agree what I said just now, don't you?"

Genma was about to protest when he felt a sharp blade pressed against his neck. "I suggest you agree to Ranma's request, husband. What Nabiki said is correct… if he is uneducated, he won't attract many girls… and that makes him quite unmanly in my eyes. Would you like me to carry out the contract right now?" Nodoka said in a cool tone.

"Ahahaha… ju… just kidding, No-chan." Genma sweated. "I… I was worried about the boy getting soft that's all." He then breathed a sigh of relief when the pressure of the blade was lifted. "Fine… I'll allow you to go… but you had better not get soft when you come back, got that boy!? Consider this a training trip for you… I will test your skills when you return."

He then grabbed Soun who was blubbering about the schools not being joined. "Come on old friend, let's go and get some sake… don't worry about the boy. After all absence makes the heart grow fonder, eh?" When the two blunders left the house, Ranma looked at his mother and said. "Alright mom, I think you can drop the act, now that those two are not around."

Nodoka smiled as the Tendo sisters crowded round the table. "Indeed my son… Though it is so much fun to see your father squirm like that. Not that I intend to follow through on it, of course… I will never kill my own child… besides, from what the Tendo sisters have told me about you… you have proved yourself to be manly."

"Thanks mom…. I guess that's a big relief. It's a bit sad to leave you guys though…" Ranma said, smiling sadly at his family.

"Don't worry about us, baka..." Akane said good-naturedly with a slight growl. "Just make sure you come back safely after you finished your high school. Besides, neechan-tachi and I already know that we are not really compatible. And don't worry about the others… we'll tell them long after you have gone. And I think between me and Auntie Nodoka… and with my sisters we can keep the fathers in line."

"Yeah Saotome…" Nabiki added. "I'll make sure I'll rip off your dad and the rest of the Nerima psychos, and misdirect them should they ask for your whereabouts. And I'll make sure that Akari knows of this, and make sure she 'detains' your lost rival permanently."

Kasumi then went to the kitchen for a moment and then returned with a bento box. "Here you go, Ranma-kun… a bento for your journey. It's not much but it's the least I can do for you."

"Thank you… all of you." Ranma said as he gave each of the Tendo sisters a hug. "I'm going to miss all of you." He let them go after a while, and then turned to his mother. "Most of all, I think I am going to miss you the most, mother." He then gave her an affectionate hug, which she returned in earnest.

"Silly boy… of course you do. Don't worry about me, dear… just make sure you write as often as you can… and if you can could you perhaps introduce me to a future daughter-in-law of your own choosing?" Her eyes twinkled with amusement at the last part that she said, and she giggled in amusement as she heard her son groan. It was fun to tease her son like this!

Ranma chuckled nervously as he let his mother go. "Well mom… I will write often of course… though I make no promises on the last part, alright?" He sweat dropped slightly at the sight of his mother making a girlish pout and the Tendo sisters just raised their eyebrows at Nodoka's expression.

He then got up and then said. "Well I am off then… I will see you all again soon… when I return."

"Go, my son… we'll take care of everything here." Nodoka said which was followed by the Tendo sisters' unanimous nod.

Ranma nodded and hefted his pack and strode out of the Tendo home, casting one last wistful glance at the Tendo dojo, before making his way to the Nerima train station, and boarded the train, unaware that a new journey that will change his life awaits him in Iwatodai.

End of Chapter 1

Please Read and Review

A/N 2: Well, I am going to include the probable pairings in here, just in case you guys want me to continue this. There will be no pairings for Ken Amada… since he is too young, but these are the probable pairings. I'm sticking Junpei with Chidori as per canon. The rest though is up to you guys. But just a question, I'm making this an AU, but should I kill off Shinjiro Aragaki like the canon, or should I keep him alive? Please vote on this as well. One last thing, when you vote for any of the girls, I ask that you guys try and state the reason why you are voting for them, alright? Thanks.

Minato Arisato Pairings

Yukari Takeba

Fuuka Yamagishi

Mitsuru Kirijo

A.E.G.I.S

Yuko Nishiwaki (the sports club manager)

Chihiro Fushimi (the student council treasurer)

Ranma Saotome Pairings

Yukari Takeba

Fuuka Yamagishi

Mitsuru Kirijo

Yuko Nishiwaki (the sports club manager)

Chihiro Fushimi (The student council treasurer)

Akihiko Sanada Pairings

Mitsuru Kirijo

Yukari Takeba


	2. Arrival in Iwatodai

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ Belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media and all its affiliates. Persona and its affiliates belong to those wonderful guys at Atlus. Oh, and the opening of this prologue might resemble a fic that is already on. I give credit to that esteemed writer and I ask forgiveness for using the opening as part of my story. And I know you guys are tired of me saying this, but this is my first attempt at writing a Ranma/Persona Cross so I do apologize if I don't meet the expectations of you guys.

A/N: Thanks for you guys who gave your support for this fic. Truth to be told, I didn't really know how you guys out there would react. Anyway, unlike other fics, I am giving you guys almost an unlimited time period to vote for pairings so do make full use of that, alright? Pairing update votes will be displayed at the end of the chapter. By the way, I am still thinking of the Persona that is going to evolve from Ranma's Nekomata… any ideas guys? I was thinking of cat gods/goddesses. SO far, I only got Bastet and/or Sekhmet in my mind. Do help me think up of something for Ranma's final persona will ya?

Chapter 2: Arrival in Iwatodai.

As soon as he entered the train station, Ranma quickly made his way to the gates and slid his train ticket into the slot, and the gate opened, and he strode towards the train platform. To be honest, he never really took the train anywhere in the past, since he had a more reliable, though slightly unpredictable way via Mallet Airways or Air Akane.

It's not that he never took the train before, in fact, he had to take it to come back to Nerima after being launched to a random part of Japan by Akane's rage fueled mallet swings. His face softened a little as he thought about his fiancée. While they are unofficially engaged, since Nabiki did point it out to him when the fathers were not around, the engagement between the Saotomes and the Tendos are made only by verbal agreement, not written down in contract. Which means, technically he isn't really engaged to the Tendo sisters, which suits all parties.

Akane now sees him like a good friend like she never had, despite Ranma's failings. She took cooking lessons from Nodoka and Kasumi, who taught her patiently, and her cooking improved a little. Though she does fall into her old 'launch Ranma into the stratosphere with a mallet' habit now and then, he couldn't fault her for that, seeing that his 'foot-in-mouth' syndrome still acted up sometimes.

Both Kasumi and Nabiki looked at him as a younger brother they never had, and both of them often gave him advice, though Nabiki's was given to him with a small price attached.

His relationship with his mother actually improved after the failed wedding, where he went and apologized to her in secret, and showed her his curse. To his surprise, she forgave him easily, saying that the mess wasn't his fault, and she wasn't going to hold him to the seppuku contract, though they did have to pretend that she was still the woman that Genma feared.

The train soon arrived, breaking him from his thoughts, and he quickly got on board. He stared out of the train, watching the scenery whizzing by as the train departed towards Iwatodai. This was one of the longest trips on the train he ever made on a train, and he closed his eyes and concentrated, meditating on the train to pass the time.

The soft hiss of the train doors opening as it stopped at a station was heard and Ranma opened his eyes, sensing someone walking over to him, and sat on the seat next to where he was sitting. He looked at the newcomer and observed him. He had dark blue hair, which was messy, with light gray eyes; one of them was covered by the hair that fell across his face. He wore some sort of school uniform, and a jacket outside, and there was a pin that showed the symbol of Gekkoukan High School, the same school that Mitsuru had arranged him to be in. He also carried some kind of backpack, more like a case for something, and he had headphones on his ear, listening to something.

Ranma looked at the guy for a moment, and felt something strange about him, though he can't really tell what was strange about this young man. Deciding that making friends would make his life so much easier in his school, he tapped the other guy's shoulder, and waited for his response.

Minato Arisato was making his way earlier to the train station since tomorrow was the day he transferred over to Gekkoukan High School in Iwatodai. It has been ten years since he had left the town after an accident that killed his parents and left him an orphan, and it is ironic that he returned to the same town to finish his schooling. He always had his headphones on, listening to the radio. He was a quiet person, only speaking when spoken to, and he was regarded as antisocial in his previous schools.

Not that he really cared, since he largely ignored those people, though deep inside, he felt occasional pangs of loneliness that left him staring into endless space sometimes. He was then brought out from his thoughts by someone tapping his shoulder.

He turned to see a young man his age, wearing a green Maoist clothing with a duffel bag. The young man's hair was black, which was styled into a pigtail. His eyes were blue-grey in color, and from what Minato could tell, he seemed like one of those people from the martial art clubs in junior high school. "Yes… can I help you?" He began rather cautiously.

The young man just smiled at him and asked. "Oh good, I thought you didn't notice me tapping you on the shoulder, with you listening to the radio like that. Anyway, you are probably going to Iwatodai to go to Gekkoukan High, right? I saw the pin on your jacket, and I figured that is where you are going."

He nodded and the pigtailed man grinned. "Then you can say we are heading the same way. I am going the same way too… I received a letter from an old friend in Iwatodai who got me in the school under a sports scholarship or something." He said thoughtfully. "My name's Ranma Saotome, by the way, what's yours?"

Minato blinked in surprise at the pigtailed man's name. He had heard quite a few things about this man's supposed adventures, since a series of books called the 'Nerima Chronicles' was published. A certain Miss Tendo, who apparently was the author/editor of the series, swore that everything written in the books are true. Still he did not say anything to the pigtailed young man, who if his intuition is correct is a supposed martial arts prodigy. "Minato Arisato… pleased to meet you as well." He finally said after a while.

Ranma observed the young man that had just introduced himself and just shook his head. "You don't really talk much, do ya? Geez, I've seen creepy voodoo guys back in my old high school that talk more than you."

Minato didn't really know what to make of what Ranma had said. Was he trying to get him to lighten up or was he insulting him? He really did not know. "I see… you must have an interesting life then, Saotome-san. I have heard vaguely of you through some books I have read before. It's called 'The Nerima Chronicles'… published or written by N. Tendo… I think."

Ranma sighed and then said. "Figures that Nabiki would make a buck out of our adventures… and before you deny it, Minato-san… all those things that are written in those books are true. It's up to you whether to believe them or not. Secondly… please don't call me Saotome-san. It reminds me of my baka father. Ranma is fine."

"Alright, Ranma-san…" Minato said calmly, though he was rather surprised at how long he held the conversation. Most of the time, he couldn't really talk to people for very long, but Ranma seemed different. It was as if he had a personality that drew you to him. "By the way… you were saying that you were going to Gekkoukan High as well right? Do you have a place a stay when you are in Iwatodai?"

The pigtailed martial artist scratched his head, a habit that he had when he was nervous or thinking. "Well… actually my friend had already taken care of it." He then rummaged in his pack and showed Minato the brochure and map of how to get to the place he was staying.

Minato's eyes widened slightly as he took out the same map that had been given to him. "What a coincidence… it seems that we are drafted to be in the same dorm, Ranma-san." He finally said.

"Heh… looks like we are going to be dorm mates." Ranma smirked. "Just a warning to you, Minato-san… your life is going to be very interesting from this day on. Things just happen around me, something that even I can't control. If you can survive the chaos that surrounds me, which is my life basically, I do believe you are going to come out tougher than before."

Minato did not say anything, but mulled over what the pigtailed martial artist had said to him. It is true that what Ranma had gone through would drive a normal person insane, and the things that happened in the district of Nerima in Tokyo was as chaotic as some other places he had heard about, namely Tomobiki, Okayama and Juuban. The things he read about there were strange enough for him to dismiss them as false, especially he was sitting next to one of the people that had come from one of those four areas. "By the way, Ranma-san… aren't you supposed to be wearing the uniform of Gekkoukan? I doubt that they will allow you to wear those clothes that you are wearing."

Ranma just shrugged and said. "Feh… school uniform's a chore, Minato-san… besides; they didn't give me any stick over my current dress code in Furinkan High."

"That maybe true of your old school, Ranma-san…" Minato said calmly and logically. "But I seriously doubt that our new school will tolerate that. I know that you are most probably comfortable with what you are wearing right now, but what I suggest is that you conform to the dress code only during those school days and use your current outfit during Sundays. It's best not to get into trouble with the school administration during your first day at school."

Ranma was about to retort, but then he fell silent as he considered his companion's words for a moment. He then grinned. "You know, Minato-san… you are really a strange person. You are not really talkative, and seems to be a by the book kind of guy. But seeing you talk like this, reminds me of Kasumi and Nabiki all rolled into a person. Man… I don't think I would someday meet someone that has their best qualities in them. If you are like them, I won't be surprised that we would get along just fine."

Minato just nodded, feeling himself more relaxed around the pigtailed martial artist, so much so that he didn't bother fastening his earphones to listen to the radio. He then asked something that had been nagging at him for a while. "Ranma-san… you compared me to this Nabiki and Kasumi person… not to mention you seem to know the author of the Nerima Chronicles… what are they like?"

Ranma just smiled wistfully. "Kasumi… well to put simply, she is the eldest sister of my 'fiancée' Akane Tendo. I use that term loosely, because after a failed wedding attempt concocted by our idiot fathers, we really had some time to talk, and we both discovered that we can never be more than best friends, maybe something akin to brother and sister."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Kasumi Tendo, if you met her and know her personally is a selfless angel. She's one of the prettiest girls I know, also the kindest and sweetest. She also acts as the surrogate mother in the household, and she never complains at all when she is doing the housework. In fact, she is a great cook and a good listener. Makes me regard her as the mother/elder sister figure that I never had, before I met my mother."

"Now Nabiki… to simply put it, she was a mercenary and an Ice Queen in the past. She would do anything, and I mean anything to obtain money, be it legally or on the borderline of being illegal. Everything that she gives out, advice or whatnot is never free. Only recently, that I found out why she did all that. Apparently with all the chaos that surrounds my life, with all the fights that damaged the dojo, not to mention that me and Oyaji freeloaded off the Tendo house, severely increased the food bills of the household. I couldn't really blame her after all of that."

He then grinned and then looked at his companion. "Now that I have said what I want to say, it's your turn now, Minato-san."

Minato nodded and told Ranma briefly about his own life up to this point, before he came back to Iwatodai.

"So… if I understand it correctly, you were originally from Iwatodai huh? And you had to leave because of your parents' deaths… I am really sorry about that by the way." Ranma said rather sympathetically.

"Don't be, Ranma-san… their deaths is not your fault… I still do not know what had caused their deaths, but I have accepted it and moved on." Minato said calmly.

"You are strong, Minato-san… I might have a strange and dysfunctional family, but they are all I have. They have their own quirks and weird personalities… but they are all I have. Hell, I even consider the Nerima Wrecking Crew my friends, mainly because they are all I have too. I do not know if I would have taken it so well if I was in your place." Ranma said rather sheepishly.

Minato's lips curved slightly into a smile as he heard Ranma speak. It was as if the pigtailed martial artist was trying to comfort him or something. Although like he said, he had moved on, he still appreciates the way his companion's attempt to cheer him up. He then absentmindedly took a look around and was surprised that there were very few people left on the train.

Apparently, Ranma noticed that as well and he looked out at the window and saw that it was already dark outside. "Whoa… time really flies when you are talking with someone. Minato-san… may I ask what time is it now?"

Minato looked at the timer on his CD player and said. "Its twenty minutes past eleven, Ranma-san… and I do agree with your statement. It shouldn't be long now to reach Iwatodai station."

As if on cue, an announcement rang in the train, stating the train's imminent arrival at Iwatodai station. Upon arrival, both teens got up from their seats and made their way outside the station, intending to go their dorm. It was then the unexpected happened.

Ranma was the first one to notice, since his training had honed his observation skills to pay attention to his surroundings. The first thing he noticed that all electronic devices in the station, not to mention all around him suddenly shut down as if there was a blackout, since the station's emergency lighting came on.

He then walked with Minato outside the station and found himself in a strange land. Sure the buildings and all that were all the same, but the night sky was green for some reason, and there was a bright yellow moon shining down on them. Add that to the coffins standing straight up around them, and what looked like blood on the floor made the scenery quite a weird and creepy one to those who hadn't gone through the things that he did in his life.

"Now this is weird, isn't it, Minato-san…" He commented offhandedly as both youths walked towards their supposed dorm, seemingly unfazed by the things that just transpired around them. "I mean this thing that happened around us, the green night sky, the coffins and the blood… I don't know what is wrong with this city. This kind of thing actually feels weird to me, and if you know about my life… this probably rates a 3 on my Weird-o-meter. Heck, I've seen and fought against the Orochi, Dragon Princes and Phoenix Demigods… so this is nothing new to me." The last few parts were said in his normal cocky tone.

Minato could only nod slightly in agreement, as he looked at the map that was given to him, and he said. "Let us go, Ranma-san… it's late, and I do think we need to get some rest."

"You're right, Minato-san… let's get a move on before this scenery really and seriously starts to creep me out." Ranma said in a nonchalant tone as both youths started walking, following the directions of the map that was given to them.

On the way, the passed by more coffins standing upright, though they ignored them until they reached a large mansion like structure. After looking at the picture that was on the map, Minato said. "Well, Ranma-san… it seems that we have arrived at out destination."

"Looks like it, Minato-san… let's go in shall we? No sense staying out here in a strange land of coffins." Ranma deadpanned as both of them approached the building and went inside.

The interior of their dorm was like any old western styled building, an old grandfather clock was sitting on one side of what looked like a living room, and there was also a comfortable looking sofa set with a matching table. Heck, there was even a TV there.

"Oh you people are here… we have been expecting you." A female voice, which resembled a little girl's caught their attention. Both teens turned to the side, and they saw a counter, and behind them were two people. One was a boy who wore a gray striped shirt that resembled a prison uniform. He was rather pale, and had gray hair and light green eyes. The other was a girl, with light brown hair and amber colored eyes. She wore a simple blue colored sundress and had a straw hat on her head.

Ranma was quite startled by their appearance. He didn't detect their presence when they entered the building, meaning that these two children, if they are really children were very powerful beings. He had dealt with supernatural foes and super powered martial artists, dragon princes, magical princes and a phoenix demigod before, so he knew that these two children were more than what they seem.

The girl and boy soon approached them, and the boy withdrew a folder, and the girl did the same.

The boy then looked at Minato and said. "I realize that this is rather sudden for me to request something of you… but I need you to sign your name here on the contract I am carrying."

The girl looked at Ranma the same way and said. "I must ask you to do the same as well, young man."

Minato was about to comply when Ranma stopped him and then snorted. "Yeah right… what's the catch here anyway? I've dealt with Nabiki before, not to mention that you two are not what you seem, despite your looks… I've learnt that through experience."

The girl giggled softly and shook her head. "There is no 'catch' here, young man. Signing this contract will not harm you in any way… all we ask is that you take responsibility for your actions that you are going to make in the future. This is in a way, is a contract or letter of indemnities… if you will."

Ranma looked at the pair, who was trying their best to look innocent, especially the girl. He sighed to himself, as he recognized her look. It was the look that his girl form used when he decide to obtain free food, especially ice cream. He thought deeply for a moment, before saying. "Fine… I'll sign the damn contract… but I warn you, if this is a trick or something… I'll make sure you two, whatever you are, will come to regret it."

He then took a pen and signed his name on the contract, followed by Minato who followed his lead, leaving a slight shiver of fear coursing through the two elder being's souls. They had seen, or at least read about the 'demise' of the Phoenix demigod Saffron, and it would not be good on their health, even though the mortal did not really stand a chance against them, to anger a known God slayer.

After they had retrieved the contract, the boy said to them. "No one can escape time… It all delivers us to the same end."

The girl then followed her brother's lead. "You both cannot cover your eyes and ears and pretend that nothing has happened, or everything is alright around." The room suddenly was covered with darkness, the only light visible illuminated the four people in the room.

They both then said in unison. "We will be watching you both… even if you forget about us…" With that, they soon faded from view, and both Ranma and Minato looked around rather dumbfounded at what had just transpired.

"What on earth just happened?" Ranma said to no one in particular, though Minato also shared the same thought as the pigtailed martial artist.

Just then, a female cry of 'who's there!?' caught their attention. They looked towards the origin of the sound and saw a girl with honey brown hair, light blue eyes dressed in a combination of a pink striped blazer, a red tie that was on her neck and light brown skirt. She also had some kind of red band on her left arm, and she was looking at them rather fearfully.

Ranma's attention however was on the holster on her hip which held some sort of gun in it, which came to him as a surprise. He didn't know that the people in this dorm were armed at all, with guns no less. While Minato just looked shocked, his body tensed up slightly, a reflex he had after years of training and the things he had gone through in Nerima.

He was about to react when he saw the girl's hand going to the gun and almost drawing it when he heard a commanding female voice cry out. "Takeba, wait!"

The girl named Takeba looked to the sound of the voice, and visibly relaxed, and the owner of the voice stepped into the light. She was tall, with dark maroon hair that fell to her shoulders, some of it covering one of her eyes. She wore a black skirt, and she had a white blazer instead of pink, with the same red tie, and the same red band around her left arm. She had a small smile on her face, and Ranma thought that she seemed familiar to him. He searched his mind as he studied her, and his eyes widened in recognition after some time. There was only one girl in his memory that had that color of hair.

"Mit... Mitsu-chan?" He said rather tentatively, not believing that his special childhood friend had blossomed into such a beauty.

Mitsuru looked at the pigtailed martial artist, a special friend that she had not seen for a long time since her childhood, and smiled softly. She nodded and said. "Yes, Ranma-kun… it is me. Welcome to Iwatodai."

End of Chapter 2

A/N 2: Well, these are my responses to your reviews so far, as well as an update about the pairing votes. And as a special note: I am adding some more girls and multiple pairing votes as well. Enjoy! By the way, I still don't see anyone voting whether I should keep Shinjiro Aragaki alive, or should he die like in canon. Please vote guys.

Voting Results (For now)

Minato Arisato Pairings

Yukari Takeba: 1

Fuuka Yamagishi: 0

Mitsuru Kirijo: 0

A.E.G.I.S: 3

Yuko Nishiwaki (the sports club manager): 0

Chihiro Fushimi (the student council treasurer): 0

AEGIS and Yukari Takeba: 1

Ranma Saotome Pairings

Yukari Takeba: 0

Fuuka Yamagishi: 2

Mitsuru Kirijo: 7

Yuko Nishiwaki (the sports club manager): 0

Chihiro Fushimi (The student council treasurer):1

Fuuka Yamagishi and Chihiro Fushimi: 1

Elizabeth: 1

Akihiko Sanada Pairings

Mitsuru Kirijo: 1

Yukari Takeba: 1

Well, as far as pairings go for Minato, AEGIS is currently leading the pack with Yukari a close second. In Ranma's case, Mitsuru seems to be the favorite to snag our Wild Horse, though Fuuka is still in the running as well as Chihiro. Not to mention a surprise inclusion of Elizabeth and multiple pairings for both MCs. And as for Akihiko, there is a tie between Yukari and Mitsuru. If you guys want your girls to end up with the MCs, do make sure to vote alright? Oh, and just a note… one vote per girl, per review only. So for those people who have voted… you will not be allowed to vote again. I am really sorry for that.


	3. Meeting of Old Friends

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ Belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media and all its affiliates. Persona and its affiliates belong to those wonderful guys at Atlus. Oh, and the opening of this prologue might resemble a fic that is already on. I give credit to that esteemed writer and I ask forgiveness for using the opening as part of my story. And I know you guys are tired of me saying this, but this is my first attempt at writing a Ranma/Persona Cross so I do apologize if I don't meet the expectations of you guys.

Chapter 3: Meeting of Old Friends

Ranma blinked a few more times, and stared at his special childhood friend that he hadn't seen in years. She was tall and beautiful, and exuded a regal and noble aura around her, that not even the self-proclaimed Blue Blunder of Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno could ever match. Not that it would have mattered, as far as Ranma is concerned, the Kunos were all a family of loons.

Heck, if Kuno got wind of this, he would have declared Mitsuru a 'goddess' and declare his love for her. For some reason, the thought of the Blue Blunder being anywhere near Mitsuru triggered a spike of anger in him, and he would have ripped the so called 'noble scion of the house of Kuno' to pieces before he even got close to a foot from his friend.

Likewise, Mitsuru studied his childhood friend rather closely, and somehow, despite herself, she blushed slightly, apparently liking what she saw. Ranma had certainly filled out since she last met him, and his stormy blue-grey eyes had always got her attention since they first met. Add that to the leanly built body, and the confidence that he exuded while carrying himself, spoke volumes of his prowess of being a martial artist.

She then thought about what Akihiko said about earlier, and decided that he was right. If what was written on the report about her childhood friend were true, then Akihiko would be lucky to be able to last ten seconds against him. The question is… does he have the potential required to fight… them?

She was then brought out of her thoughts when she felt Yukari nudging her on the side, a slight smile on the younger girl's face. "So… Mitsuru-senpai… who are they? And how come you know one of them?"

She blushed slightly for being distracted, and then turned to her dorm mate and said. "Oh, I am sorry, I must have been distracted. It's been a while since I met an old friend. Anyway…" She then gestured to both Ranma and Minato. "This is Ranma Saotome… and Minato Arisato. Ranma is an old childhood friend of mine, and I've arranged for him to come to Gekkoukan High under a sports scholarship. And as for Minato, it was a last minute decision to transfer him to Gekkoukan. Both of them will eventually be transferred to the boys' dorm."

Yukari nodded and then looked at Mitsuru with a slight worried tone. "Um, ok… Mitsuru-senpai… is it really alright for them to be here?"

Ranma frowned a little, detecting a worried undertone in the brown haired girl's voice, but said nothing. He wasn't Akane and didn't really jump into conclusions, but his first thought was that the girl was worried about them being perverts. He snorted to himself.

_Yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen. I'm not like the old letch, for goodness sake. _

But then again, he thought about the encounter that he had just experienced, and then began to think. _I wonder… if what she is worried about is connected to those two weird kids, and the scene with the green sky, yellow moon and coffins with blood all around when I first arrived?_

Mitsuru just smiled and said. "Don't worry Takeba… we will see as time goes along." She then turned to both boys and said. "Let me introduce you both. This is Yukari Takeba; she will be a junior this spring, just like you both in Gekkoukan High this year."

Yukari smiled cheerfully at both boys, and said. "Hi! Nice to meet you both, Arisato-san, Saotome-san."

Minato nodded and said calmly. "Nice to meet you, Yukari-san."

Ranma grinned and said. "Nice to meet you too, Yukari-san. And please, call me Ranma. Saotome-san is big tub of lard of a father, which is part panda half the time."

The three people that were with him just blinked at that statement, and Mitsuru frowned. "Ranma… I am not sure that I should say this, since we have just met again, after so long…" She could detect undertones of hostility when his old childhood friend mentioned his father. "But shouldn't you be more respectful when you are talking about your father?" She said with a slightly unpleasant tone.

Ranma shivered slightly, not liking his friend's tone of voice. It is one of the few things that really scared him somehow, besides his phobia about ca… ca… felines. He then sighed and said. "I am sorry for that, Mitsu-chan… but I got to tell you, despite him being the cause of me being as good as I am, he isn't a stellar example of a father."

Mitsuru fought back the urge to roll her eyes at his remark. It seems that he had the ego to match his skills, as written in the report. "Why would you say that, Ranma?" She said, crossing her arms, and awaited for his answer.

"Well Mitsu-chan… I hope you are ready for this, because you are not going to like it when the story I am going to tell is over." Ranma said in resignation, as he began to tell his friend, as well as the two people that were there with him an abridged version of his life until now, including the Neko-ken training.

Needless to say, there were mixed reactions from the people present after hearing his tale. Yukari felt a pang of sympathy for the young man that was apparently Mitsuru-senpai's old childhood friend, though she did not know if what she had heard was true… dragon princes… the orochi… phoenix people… not to mentioned cursed springs and weird sort of martial arts… it was too bizarre for her, though she did feel the urge to use a certain panda cursed martial artist as target practice the next time she decided to train for a tournament..

As for Minato, he had heard a bit of his companion's story while they were on the train, so he wasn't too fazed about it, though he still felt that the story, like Yukari… was a bit bizarre… though after what both of them encountered during their arrival in Iwatodai, made the story a little bit more believable.

Mitsuru's face was a face of calm, but inside, a well of cold fury burned deep inside of her. She admired the tenacity and the perseverance of her childhood friend, and sympathized over the things he had to go through when she wasn't around. She mentally noted to use whatever resources that the Kirijo group had to try and resolve whatever matters that her old friend had back in Nerima… including a full investigation into one Genma Saotome's background.

Back in Nerima, a panda-cursed martial artist suddenly had a sneezing fit, as his danger senses went overdrive, and he started looking around for whatever that had caused this particular reaction.

Mitsuru nodded and said. "Well… I suppose both of you are tired after arriving here so late. Yukari… please take Minato-san to his room. Ranma… stay for a moment. I need to talk to you, okay?"

Yukari just nodded and smiled. "Sure, senpai…!" She said cheerfully and turned to Minato and said. "Come on, Minato-san… just follow me and I'll lead you to your room. Your things have been placed in the room that is assigned to you."

Minato nodded, and followed the perky girl closely, and went up the stairs and walked with her towards the end of the hall, where there are six rooms there. She led him to the end of the hall, and pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

"Well, here we are…. Pretty easy huh? Since it's at the end of the hall and all that." Yukari said perkily. "Oh, and make sure you don't lose your keys… or you will never hear the end of it from Mitsuru-senpai."

She then looked at him and said. "Do you have any other questions for now?"

Minato looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, and then said. "Yes, I have three actually. Firstly, who was that boy and girl that I saw at the dorm before, secondly, does everyone need to sign a contract or some sort before entering the dorm… and thirdly, why do you carry a gun, Yukari-san?"

Yukari looked startled at the barrage of questions that were posed to her. "Whoa there… one question at a time, Minato-san. As far as I recall, I don't know about any little boys or girls that live in this dorm. The only people who live here are Mitsuru-senpai, myself and Akihiko-senpai, who you guys hadn't got a chance to meet yet. You sure you are not hallucinating or something? Secondly, as far as I recall, I don't remember Mitsuru-senpai asking me to sign any contract of any sort when I first came here… and as for the gun, well, it's not a real gun… it's just a toy, you know for self-defense and scaring off people, so don't worry about it, kay?"

Minato nodded, though he personally thought that by the way that Yukari-san was talking, she was definitely hiding something, though he could believe that she didn't know about the contract or the two children that he and Ranma-san met earlier… question is, why was he and Ranma-san the only people that were approached and made to sign the contract? He did not know the answer… though he suspected that he will find it out sooner or later.

He then said. "Well, thank you, Yukari-san… I think we'd better turn in. I'll see you tomorrow then." With that he entered his room, and changed to his sleepwear, and then went to bed, and was soon fast asleep.

Yukari watched Minato enter his room, and breathed a sigh of relief. He had asked some questions that almost made her blurt out the things that Mitsuru-senpai had asked her not to tell him just yet... she had to be more careful in the future. With that thought in her mind, she too, went back to her room to get some rest. She had been a bunch of frayed nerves earlier, since she had been trying very hard to summon her 'inner self', though she had not been quite successful this far. Tomorrow, she would probably be asked to bring both Ranma and Minato-san to Gekkoukan High, so she figured she needed the rest.

Back at the Living Room…

Ranma and Mitsuru were seated at the sofa, the latter looking over her childhood sympathetically, and said. "Ranma, now that both Yukari and Minato-san are now asleep… could you tell me something? Is everything you told me just now true? That you have multiple fiancées, and all that?"

Ranma just sighed and nodded. "It's true, Mitsu-chan…." He said rather wearily. "Most of it is due to the actions of my old man… he has a penchant of engaging me to any family that could fill his empty belly… not to mention the things he did in the name of training." He then told her about the events that took place in the ten year training trip, and with each story, Mitsuru's eyebrow twitched rather heavily. A cold fury burned deep inside of her, with each passing tale. Genma Saotome was a dead man when she was through with him, and she would not hesitate to use the Kirijo Group's full resources to bring the man to justice for hurting her friend like that...

Ranma noticed and recognized the look on Mitsuru's face and sighed to himself. Pop's gonna get it this time… and note to self, never piss Mitsu-chan off. The feeling that he got from his childhood friend was weird... there was something like a second ki signature buried deep inside of her, though it was weak and almost undetectable for now. What he felt now was her anger, and had she'd been able to manifest a battle aura, it would have been impressive, and frankly, he was feeling a bit afraid of Mitsuru when she was like this.

He then spoke to her, trying to get her to calm down. "Mitsu-chan… I know that you are pissed off at my Pop… but you can leave him alone for the moment."

Mitsuru looked at her friend as if he had grown a second head as he made his statement. "Now why would you want me to do that, Ranma-kun? By all rights, the man is a criminal and a child abuser; if what you told me is true… don't you want to see him brought to justice for what he has done to you and the others?"

Ranma nodded and said. "Sure I do… but if you look at it in another way, Mitsu-chan… I would not have been this good if not because of him. Sure, his training methods are extremely questionable… but it is what made me what I am today… and besides…" He grinned. "He's under surveillance now… my mom and the Tendo sisters will keep him and Mr. Tendo in line. Pop's deathly afraid of Mom and her Katana, not to mention that Nabiki will take every single yen he has, if that fails."

Mitsuru nodded, and then said. "Ahh… and the Tendo family is the place that I have sent the letter to you, is that right? The Tendo Dojo? Tell me what are they like… the family that you are staying with. I wish to catch up on the times since we last saw each other."

Ranma just smiled and said. "Well, as I told Minato-san before, the head of the family, Soun Tendo is my dad's old training buddy. The man is alright, though a bit on the emotional side. That is evident since he uses the 'Demon Head' technique, or breaks down into crying waterfalls… other than that, he often plays shogi with my dad, though they often cheat to win."

He paused for a moment, and then continued. "Kasumi Tendo is the matriarch of the family, and the surrogate mother of the Tendo sisters, and the eldest. She is a gentle person, almost the typical Japanese housewife like mom, and I consider her a big sister to me. She is also a mean cook, if you ask me, since the food she cooks is heavenly."

Mitsuru just smiled slightly, as she detected a wealth of affection in her friend's voice. Whoever this Kasumi Tendo is, it seems that she has made quite an impression on her friend's life… and it was good to know that even though after so long, certain things stayed the same, one of which is her friend's love of food, which was quite strong even back then.

Ranma then continued. "Then we have Nabiki… the self proclaimed 'Ice Queen' of Furinkan High, the school that I am currently enrolled to before you stepped in. She's a bit of a mercenary, but she only does it to keep her family finances afloat, since Mr. Tendo stopped teaching students after his wife's death. Granted that her methods are just as questionable… but I suppose the destruction that seems to follow me around would make her resort to such matters."

Mitsuru nodded, as she had read up the file of one Nabiki Tendo, when she was trying to search for her old friend. In the report, she seemed to be like a penny-ante yakuza wannabe, with illegal betting rings, racketeering and that sort of stuff, most of which were centered on her old friend. She then said in a cool voice. "I imagine it would be hard with such a woman living around… some of the activities that she is carrying out can be considered criminal as well you know."

Ranma nodded and said. "I know… but still, I feel it is my responsibility for causing so much trouble to the Tendos with the high repair bills whenever my so called 'rivals' and fiancées crawling out of the woodwork. But we pretty much settled our differences, and I consider her now an older, though somewhat of a mercenary older sister."

Mitsuru nodded and then said. "I understand… and how bout the youngest, this girl called Akane Tendo?"

Ranma just smiled wistfully, and said. "Ah yes, Akane… she was one of my fiancées, though we got off at a bad start. After that many misadventures, fights and whatnot… which would be too long if I described it, and the fact that you can find it all in that series of books that Nabiki published… we decided that don't fit with each other, and remained as friends."

Mitsuru nodded, and smiled softly and said. "You have an interesting life, Ranma-kun… and don't worry, I'll let the Kirijo Group's employees keep a look out for your father or his training partner if they decide to try something, which I believe happens quite often, if the reports that I had from the branch office in Nerima are true."

Before Ranma could say, there was a low whistle, followed by a deep masculine voice who said. "Now this is a surprise… Miss Ice Queen from Gekkoukan warming up to a sophomore… I think if word got out, your reputation would be ruined, Mitsuru."

Both Mitsuru and Ranma turned to the sound of the voice, and Ranma took some time to study the newcomer. He was tall and lean, and definitely walked with a fighter's gait. This man was obviously trained in the Art, and he had silver hair, and wore black trousers with matching shoes. He also had a red jacket of some sort, and a white long sleeved shirt underneath. The thing is that his ki senses also detected the same weak ki signature deep inside of this man, which intrigued him to no end.

Mitsuru flashed the newcomer a look of annoyance and sighed. "Talk about ruining my reunion with an old friend… since you are here, I might as well introduce you." She got up, and then motioned for Ranma to follow her, and said. "Ranma-kun, this is Akihiko Sanada, a senior that lives in this dorm. He is also the captain of the boxing team at Gekkoukan High. Akihiko, meet Ranma Saotome, the childhood friend that I mentioned to you, which is compiled in the reports you saw earlier."

Akihiko just grinned and extended his had. "Greetings, Ranma-san… a pleasure to meet you. Care for a spar sometimes?"

Ranma just grinned cockily as he shook the hand that was offered to him. "Sure thing, Akihiko-san… and judging by the way you move, you seemed to be quite in proficient in your Art. But I doubt that you'd last thirty seconds with me, with your current ability."

"Pretty confident about your abilities, aren't you, Ranma-san…I warn you I am no pushover myself. I didn't get the role of captain in the boxing team for nothing, if you must know." Akihiko grinned, as he enjoyed sparring verbally with the man.

"Feh..." Ranma snorted. "I don't think so, Akihiko-san. After all, I'm the best martial artist of my generation, and I've got the adventures to prove it."

Mitsuru just rolled her eyes in exasperation at this current display of male posturing. _It seems that I have two guys who enjoy fighting above everything else… Akihiko was bad enough, and now with Ranma joining in, I should expect this sort of thing to happen more often, even though the benefits might outweigh the negative points._

She then decided to intervene before they decide to prove their prowess here in the living room. "As much as I would like to enjoy how good you really are, Ranma-kun… you should postpone it until another time. And Akihiko… where do you think you are going?" She said pointedly, motioning to the jacket that Akihiko had slung across his shoulder.

"I'm just going out for a bit, Mitsuru… and I think you know why. It's all over the news, or haven't you noticed?" Akihiko said rather casually, not caring that Ranma was there to hear their conversation.

Mitsuru nodded and said. "I know…" She looked at Ranma, who had a puzzled expression on his face, and smiled. "Well Ranma… let me just tell you a bit what's going on. There is something called the Apathy Syndrome going on in this town, and people who developed it somehow become listless, almost like zombies. Isn't that right, Akihiko?"

At the silver haired man's nod, she continued. "It started out with quite a few people, so no one paid any matter to it, but there are more and more people developing it. The experts say that it is due to stress but…"

Akihiko then interrupted with a snort. "Like they know anything about it… it has to be 'them' that is causing this. I'll go and investigate something about it."

Mitsuru just sighed and said. "You really have a one track mind, Akihiko… do you require my assistance in this, as backup?"

Akihiko just shook his head and said. "I'll be alright, Mitsuru… don't worry. I can take care of this myself… besides; it would be a waste of my time, if it doesn't turn out to be 'them'. That and I wouldn't want to spoil your reunion with an old friend any longer… I'll see you tomorrow then, yeah? And good night to you, Ranma-san." He then turned and walked out the door into the night.

Once he was gone, Ranma turned to his old friend and said. "Mitsuru… you got an idea about what Akihiko-san was saying? And who is this 'them' that he is referring to?"

Mitsuru cursed Akihiko inwardly for almost revealing the existence of the 'Shadows' to her old friend, even before the Chairman and she could determine whether he has the potential. She then quickly reacted and said. "It's nothing, Ranma-kun… he and I are just investigating the cause of the Apathy Syndrome… it's nothing for you to worry about." She smiled at him reassuringly, trying to divert his attention away from the subject.

_At least not for now… _She mentally noted to herself.

Ranma nodded, but found himself feeling suspicious. It was as if Mitsuru was trying to evade the question. One does not live with one Nabiki Tendo for so long, and not pick up anything from watching the 'Ice Queen' of Furinkan High. He felt that his old friend was hiding something, and somehow he felt that it had something to do with the yellow moon, green sky, the blood he saw in puddles along the street, the coffins and the malfunctioning technology that he had witnessed upon his arrival in Iwatodai. Not to mention the appearance of the creepy kids he met, when he arrived at the dorm, and the weak ki signatures that he felt within both Mitsuru and Akihiko. _Something doesn't feel right here… and I'll get to the bottom of this, somehow._

Outwardly, he just smiled and said. "Well, I suppose I better turn in for the night… I don't want you to get into trouble, since it was you who recommended me for the scholarship after all."

Mitsuru inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, as her old friend did not seem to pursue the slip that Akihiko had made earlier. _Thank goodness for his apparent ignorance… I wouldn't have known how to explain the existence of the Shadows or Persona this early, especially if whether Ranma-kun has the potential or not has not been determined yet. I'm sorry, Ranma-kun… I promise to tell you when the time is right." _She told herself, as she nodded. "I suppose so… your room is on the second floor, the first door to the left. I wish you good night, Ranma-kun."

Ranma nodded and said. "Aren't you going to sleep as well, Mitsu-chan? As you said, it's pretty late out there."

She just smiled and shook her head. "I'll be alright, Ranma-kun. I'm a late sleeper and an early riser anyway. Besides, I want to read some books before I sleep… go on ahead, don't worry, alright?"

Ranma just shrugged and said. "If you say so, Mitsu-chan…I'll see you tomorrow then." With that, Ranma hefted his pack, and then climbed up the stairs to his room, and took a quick bath in the shower upstairs, before he soon fell fast asleep from his travels, as soon as his body rested against the warm and soft bed that the dorm provided, a luxury that he never had while he was staying in the Tendo Dojo.

End of Chapter 3

A/N 2: Well since I am not allowed to put review responses here, I might as well update you guys on the pairing votes so far as well as whether or not Shinjiro Aragaki dies or not per canon, or will he live? I also made some changes in the pairing options due to the request of some members.

Voting Results (For now)

Minato Arisato Pairings

Yukari Takeba: 1

Fuuka Yamagishi: 0

Mitsuru Kirijo: 0

A.E.G.I.S: 4

Yuko Nishiwaki (the sports club manager): 1

Chihiro Fushimi (the student council treasurer): 0

Mitsuru Kirijo and Fuuka Yamagishi: 1

Ranma Saotome Pairings

Yukari Takeba: 0

Fuuka Yamagishi: 3

Mitsuru Kirijo: 8

Yuko Nishiwaki (the sports club manager): 0

Chihiro Fushimi (The student council treasurer):1

Fuuka Yamagishi and Chihiro Fushimi: 2

Elizabeth: 1

Akihiko Sanada Pairings

Mitsuru Kirijo: 2

Yukari Takeba: 2

Fuuka Yamagishi: 1

Shinjiro Aragaki's Fate

He lives: 0

He dies as per canon: 1

Well, let's see now… it seems that amongst the girls vying for Minato's hand, Aegis is still taking the lead, and as for Ranma, his old friend Mitsuru is head, followed by Fuuka. Akihiko's status is still unchanged, and I am glad that one person voted as to what Shinji's fate would be. Keep those reviews and votes coming, people! I also was thinking of something, after re-reading the reviews you guys sent me. MY question is this, while I intend for Ranma to be a Wild Card Persona User, do you want him to participate in all the Social Links in game canon, or should he take part in some? And if all, I would like suggestions as to who his Social Link characters would be.


	4. Author's Musings

Author's Musings

Well… ChaosRune has brought up a valid point up that I have not thought about when I made this fic, specifically the pairing parts, which leaves me at an impasse. In his review, he suggested to me that I should take down the current running poll about pairings as it would ruin the element of surprise of the fic regarding the pairings and who should end up with whom.

Therefore, I am now considering his advice, but I also wanted to give you all, my dear readers a choice. Should I take down the poll, and surprise you all with a surprise pairing, or should I leave it as it is?

And I do need some help in creating new characters for Ranma's Social Links, so please give me a list of names of OC supporting characters that will take part in his Social Links… and if it also includes the canon characters inside the original game, that's fine with me too, and do vote as well, whether or not Ranma should participate in all the social links in the game, or just some of them.

If some of them, do suggest those Social Links that you think will suit our pig tailed Martial Artist. Thanks.

Here is the list, and I hope in your reviews to this musings, you would give me some ideas.

Social Links

1. Magician

2. Priestess

3. Empress

4. Emperor

5. Hierophant

6. Lovers

7. Chariot

8. Strength

9. Hermit

10. Fortune

11. Justice

12. Hanged Man

13. Temperance

14. Devil

15. Tower

16. Star

17. Moon

18. Sun


	5. Announcement

Announcement

Hey there people... it's been a while I updated, I know. I just wanted to let you all know that I am undergoing a lot of RL issues, some good and some bad. But I want to reassure all of you that I have no intention in giving up updating my stories, and I am in the process of writing up chapters for some of them.

I ask that you all bear with me, since updates are going to be quite slow, but I will try to crank out chapters like I used to alright. Once again, I apologize for the delay in updates for all my stories.

My apologies and best regards

Andy a.k.a steinerdavion2183


End file.
